Kuma
Sarna News
| |
| Kuma | |
|---|---|
| Production information | |
| Manufacturer | Alshain BattleWorx |
| Class | Heavy |
| Technical specifications | |
| Mass | 60 tons |
| Chassis | Clan Series Heavy KMX |
| Armor | Arcadia Compound Delta VII Ferro-Fibrous Armor |
| Engine | 360 Type II XL |
| Speed | 97 km/h |
| Jump Jets | 240 meters |
| Armament |
1 x Heavy Large Laser |
| BV (2.0) | 1,952 [1] |
Description
Intended as a symbol of Inner Sphere/Clan unity, the Kuma (Japanese for "Bear") is a fast if lightly armed Ghost Bear Dominion heavy cavalry BattleMech.
With increasing tensions between Clan Ghost Bear warriors and former members of the KungsArmé after the merger of the Free Rasalhague Republic into the Dominion, the Ghost Bear Khans asked both groups of warriors to collaborate on a 'Mech design. Almost unanimously both sides wanted a fast and highly mobile heavy design free of ammunition concerns, with firepower a secondary consideration. While derisively referred to by some as the Charger IIC, the specialist Kuma was a heavy cornerstone to light Stars in the post-Jihad Dominion Touman.
Built on an Endo Steel frame, powered by an enormous 360 Type II XL Fusion Engine and equipped with a large number of Improved Jump Jets, the Kuma is one of the most mobile Heavy 'Mechs ever built, with a ground speed equal to the medium weight Phoenix Hawk and a jump distance as high as the light weight Spider. Clad in ten and half tons of standard armor, eleven Double Heat Sinks are barely able to cope with the design's weaponry and jump jets. [2]
Armament
The price paid for the Kumas impressive speed and mobility, the design carries a relatively anemic array consisting of a single left-arm mounted Series 4D-2 Heavy Large Laser supported by a pair of right-arm mounted Series 2f ER Medium Lasers. While its all energy weapons array provided it a level of independance from supply lines, the Kumas level of firepower was barely equal to that of depleated Succession Wars era technology medium 'Mechs. [2]
Variants
- Kuma 2 - A slightly less mobile but more heavily armed variant, the Kuma 2 replaced the heavier Improved Jump Jets with standard versions which reduced its jump distance to 180 meters. The weight saved allowed the replacement of the weapons array with a Plasma Cannon and Advanced Tactical Missile Launcher. [2]
- Kuma 3 - An even faster proof of concept variant, the Kuma 3 replaced the standard powerplant with an even larger advanced XXL Fusion Engine and yet more jump jets. With a ground speed superior to many common combat hovercraft and VTOLs, and a jump distance almost equal to that of a Land-Air 'Mech, the Kuma 3 had minimal armor and a single externally mounted gun pod. [2]